


I'd Like It If Someone Stayed

by coldfiredragon



Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Awkward Flirting, Boys Kissing, Canon Bisexual Character, Canon Gay Character, Drinking, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Pining, Tattoos, The Neitherlands Library, Trick or Treat Exchange, hedge witch AU, queliot, socially awkward Quentin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 07:06:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12576380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coldfiredragon/pseuds/coldfiredragon
Summary: The first lecture of his Hungarian descriptive grammar class started with the chair still empty, and the pile of syllabi was being passed around when the door swung open again.  The guy that slipped in was handsome and tall, with dark wavy hair that was neatly styled and a presence that seemed to command the whole room's attention.  The smile he gave their professor was easy and apologetic as he walked past her desk to take the empty seat beside him.A Hedge witch AU where Quentin meets Eliot on the first day of a shared class at Columbia university.





	I'd Like It If Someone Stayed

The classroom started to fill, and Quentin fidgeted as he tapped the end of his pen against the open notebook below it. The first lecture of a new course always sent his anxiety into overdrive, especially when he'd never met the professor before. Around him, everyone settled. It didn't seem like anyone was going to take the empty seat to his left. Quentin glanced down at the blank sheet in front of him and realized that each tap had speckled the paper with small dots. He tore the leaf loose, balled it up, and dropped onto the table beside him.

The first lecture of his Hungarian descriptive grammar class started with the chair still empty, and the pile of syllabi was being passed around when the door swung open again. The guy that slipped in was handsome and tall, with dark wavy hair that was neatly styled and a presence that seemed to command the whole room's attention. The smile he gave their professor was easy and apologetic as he walked past her desk to take the empty seat beside him. 

A notebook and pen got laid on the table, and Quentin took a syllabus for himself as the pile reached their desk. He used passing the remainder as an excuse to study the profile of the other student's face. He was prettier up close, with just the right amount of facial hair, and deep amber eyes. Quentin forced his gaze down, first to his paper, then up to the professor. He didn't want to be caught staring

“Now that's Eliot's decided to join us...” There was a smattering of soft laughter, probably from students who already knew Eliot. The professor didn't seem impressed by the young man's easy smile, or his tardiness, but it didn't phase or bother Eliot in the least. The lecture resumed once he settled and Quentin tried to ignore how the taller man shifted and stretched as though bored. Near the middle of the class, Eliot leaned back in his seat and rolled the sleeves of the button down shirt up past his elbows. He settled again with his left arm stretched against the table while he jotted notes with his right. 

Quentin hoped this guy wasn't going to sit beside him every class. He was distracting, and Quentin was paying through the nose to take courses in the Columbia linguistics department. Courses he needed to continue studying magic because almost none of it that he had found was conveniently written in English. Eliot moved again. The left arm remained lazily stretched along the table while the right hooked behind the back of his chair. It probably wasn't the most comfortable pose, but Eliot managed to make it look elegant and natural. The position also gave Quentin his first truly unobstructed view of Eliot's inner wrist. 

When Eliot had rolled up his sleeves Quentin had vaguely acknowledged that Eliot had tattoos, now he recognized them as the hedge stars that they were. There were two that Quentin could see clearly. A star with a 75 at the center sat near the middle of Eliot's forearm, and a star with a 100 was neatly tattooed on his inner wrist. Small identical dashes looped around Eliot's arm between the two stars. The dashes resumed above the 75 and continued looping upward around Eliot's forearm until they disappeared under the rolled shirt sleeve. 

Meeting such a high-level hedge made the cluster of stars on Quentin's shoulder feel like they were burning. His mouth felt dry, and he fidgeted in his chair as he tried to force his attention back to the lecture. He hadn't even cracked forty yet; there was no way Eliot would teach him anything when he had nothing to offer in return. Despite knowing that it was probably a lost cause, Quentin threw his things together as quickly as he could at the end of class. The group flowed into the hall and Quentin reached to brush his fingers against Eliot's back. There was a 50 tattooed over Eliot's elbow that Quentin hadn't been able to see in class. 

“Hey, Eliot, can we talk?” The taller man glanced backward at him, and the two of them ended up along the wall as other students bustled around them. 

“Do I know you?” Quentin felt a blush spread across his cheeks. He was letting the thirst for magic make a fool of him, and he was suddenly embarrassed by his forwardness. This guy probably wouldn't want to speak to him, much less be involved in the plan that Quentin was making up on the fly. 

“I was, um, coffee.” The blush deepened. This was his worst nightmare unfolding in real-time. “Would you like to get coffee, sometime, maybe.” Eliot was staring at him like he didn't know what to make of him. “I'm Quentin.” He tacked on. Quentin prayed he hadn't read the other guy wrong, if he preferred women this was going to be even worse than it was already, or if he already had a boyfriend. Quentin silently decided that he was going straight to registration to drop the class and see if he could pick up another if Eliot said no. 

“Oh god, you're just adorable.” A smile was creeping across the other man's face. “Sure, coffee sounds nice. I've got three more classes though, so later tonight? Eliot pulled the pen free from the spiral of his notebook and scribbled a few lines. When he handed it to Quentin, there was a phone number, time, and the address of a coffee shop off campus. “Does that work for you.” Quentin nodded, stunned, and thrilled. “Then it's a date.” 

“Sure.” Quentin didn't trust himself to say anything else. He watched Eliot disappear down the thinning hallway. He felt giddy and stupid, and thankful that he had a free block to put himself back together. The rest of his day passed in a blur, and Quentin made a portal back to his apartment to shower and change. Anxiety had built in his chest all afternoon. The meeting at the coffee shop would either go well or be an unmitigated disaster. In his mind, he debated the best way to bring magic into the conversation. All of his stars were on his shoulder, so short of taking off his shirt or pulling on the neckline, he had no way to show them off. The best thing to do was probably let the topic come up on its own.

He made a portal to take him as close to the shop as he could get and used the short walk that was left to clear his head. He'd brought his books just in case Eliot didn't show up, but Eliot had already secured a couch when he got there. His belongings were spread out around him. A half-finished beverage in a tall Irish coffee mug sat in the middle of the books and study notes. Quentin blushed as a beaming smile was cast in his direction.

“I wasn't sure you would show up.” Eliot rapidly organized his notes as Quentin walked closer. He deposited the papers in his bag but left the books in a neat pile as he patted the couch on his left. 

“Hey, um, thanks for meeting me.” Quentin sat on the edge of the couch and wished he'd gotten his drink first, so he had something to occupy his hands. Eliot brought the glass to his lips and sipped it. 

“What are you drinking?” Eliot asked as he rose to his feet a moment later. Quentin twisted towards the counter and squinted at the menu. He had no idea what the place served. 

“Um, what do you have?” Eliot's glass got brought close to his nose, and Quentin got a whiff of muddled coffee and peppermint. 

“Chocolate mocha with a shot of peppermint schnapps.” 

“That sounds good.” Quentin fumbled for his ID, and cash to pay, only to have Eliot leave the money before heading in the direction of the counter. Quentin fidgeted as he waited. He'd been the one to ask Eliot out and felt like he should be paying. Eliot returned with a pair of identical drinks. He finished the glass he'd started, then sipped the new one. The warm coffee made the knot of anxiety in Quentin's chest loosen a little. Eliot sat his drink on the table in front of them, crossed one leg over the other and rested his arm on the sofa behind them. 

“So Quentin, tell me about you.” Quentin debated leading with magic, why beat around the bush, then decided that Eliot would probably get up and walk out if he was so forward. He'd met a few advanced hedge witches, and all of them had hated being approached solely for their magic. 

“I'm not that special.” 

“Sure you are, you got into Columbia. You're bright unless your family is just filthy rich and someone owed your dad a favor.” Quentin laughed because that wasn't the way of it at all. “So the top of your class?” Eliot continued. 

“Second.” Julia had been just ahead of him. 

“So you're only mildly less intelligent than I guessed.” The rebuff didn't have any bite to it because Eliot was still smirking down at him. “Let's see; I'm betting you prefer fantasy or sci-fi when you aren't reading for class.” Quentin blushed. That was remarkably on the nose. 

“How do you figure that?” He asked. 

“The cover of your notebook is a Fillory cover.” 

“Oh.” Quentin hadn't realized it was so noticeable. He'd even picked the art without words so that it would be less obvious. Though if the guy recognized it that was awesome, cool enough to make Quentin grin. 

“So you're an adorable little super-nerd. I love those. What was the last movie you went to see, or the last book you read?” The opportunity to bring up magic had passed. Quentin hadn't pegged Eliot as a nerd or geek from his attire but found that there was a wealth of geeky references to be shared. Eliot was easy to talk to; the two of them just clicked. For the first time in months, magic became the last thing on Quentin's mind. He felt comfortable, even when Eliot ended up sitting against him, even when Eliot's arm ended up around his shoulders. 

“I'd really like to kiss you.” Eliot admitted. Quentin's mouth went dry because he wanted that too. He wasn't sure if he leaned up, or if Eliot leaned down. One moment their eyes had met, there had been a silent confirmation, and the next their mouths were clashing together in an open, hungry kiss. It broke long enough for Quentin to shift and slide into Eliot's lap. His knees pressed into the cushions of the couch as he tangled one hand in Eliot's hair and wrapped the other around the back of Eliot's neck. 

“I'm glad I asked you out.” Eliot smirked at him, and a faint blush crept across Quentin's cheeks. The awkwardness in the hallway hadn't been forgotten. 

“Let's go back to my place. It'll only take us a couple of minutes to get there.” A knot of dread fisted in Quentin's gut. If their clothes came off Eliot would see his stars. The whole night had progressed without a whisper about magic. He'd enjoyed himself, and it was all going to get ruined when Eliot figured out what his original intentions had been. “Q? If I'm moving too fast, you can say no.”

“No it's, my brain is, I'm thinking about how it could all go wrong.” 

“You adorable little dork, relax.” Eliot's arms settled around his middle in a warm, secure hold. 

“You barely know me.” Quentin pointed out. 

“I bond fast.” Eliot's hand cupped his chin and pulled him into another kiss. Want swirled in Quentin's belly, and he melted into Eliot's embrace. 

“Okay.” Maybe he could convince Eliot that he didn't want this to be about magic.

“Okay, let's go?” Quentin nodded, quick and sharp, eager and wanting. He could feel the chuckle as it built in Eliot's chest. “Arms around my neck, then.” Quentin did as he was told, and glanced down at Eliot in curiosity as Eliot's hands shifted like he was going to lift him. There was no way Eliot's slim frame could carry him -- unless he used magic. Quentin wasn't sure what spell Eliot used. Maybe he had a magical tattoo to make him stronger. His hands never moved to cast, but Quentin felt light and buoyed as Eliot stood with him. He hadn't remembered Eliot putting his books away, but the pile had migrated into Eliot's bag when Eliot grabbed their things and swung them onto his shoulder. 

Eliot smirked at him. He barely seemed burdened. Quentin hooked his ankles behind Eliot's back, tightened his arms around his neck and leaned to claim the other man's mouth. He assumed they were moving towards the coffee shop door, but it was wood and not glass that pressed against his back. The door swung easier than the door to the street would and Quentin startled a little as the door to the men's restroom opened into Eliot's apartment. 

“Relax.” Eliot soothed. “I figured out you were a hedge when we were sitting in class this morning. We can screw around a little, I'll teach you a couple of spells, and we'll call it even.”

“Oh.” Quentin shifted in the hold. He felt like an idiot. He'd practically been drooling when he'd seen Eliot's tattoos. Of course, the other man had noticed. “What if I don't want this to be about magic? What if I really um, I... I like you, for you?” Eliot dropped into a soft leather chair, and Quentin felt whatever spell Eliot had used lift off of him. His knees sank into the leather as he settled in Eliot's lap. “I kinda need something in my life that doesn't revolve around magic right now.” The last close friend had been Julia, but magic had torn that friendship apart when he'd refused to drop out of school to stay and study at Marina's bodega. 

“You're actually serious.” Quentin licked his lips, then nodded. Eliot's long fingers tucked his hair back behind his ear; Quentin leaned his head to chase after the phantom touch.

“I had a good time tonight, and we didn't talk about magic at all. It... it was nice.”

“It was nice.” Eliot's fingers were gently playing with a lock of his hair, then they flattened along his skull and curled further back into the loose locks. The next kiss was urgent and wanting. Quentin realized that Eliot was just as lonely as he was, maybe even more so and that he hadn't hoped for anything more than a one-night stand with him. “Yeah.” He said finally. “I'd like it if somebody stayed for a while.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are love! Thanks for reading!


End file.
